Gina Parkinson looks out over her neglected winter garden and thinks about what will come again.

Happy New Year to all from In The Garden and here's to a successful gardening year for us all.

My garden has been neglected for the past month while I have been occupied with seasonal duties as well as avoiding horticultural jobs during the bouts of cold weather we have had. The forecasters are promising more to come over the next few days, so things may have to be left for a while yet.

Looking out of the window as I write I can see the garden still looks surprisingly green, if rather windswept. Euphorbia and rosemary, summer jasmine and euonymus are all surviving the cold and remaining evergreen which counts for so much in the winter garden.

The clematis have all died back apart from Clematis armandii with its long, dark, leathery leaves. This should flower within weeks, although mine may be less inclined to do so this year since it had to be cut back very hard this winter after growing too near the boiler flue.

Clematis alpina and montana on the other hand both look to have died. Crispy brown leaves cling to dry thin stems and there is no apparent sign of life.

I know, however, that below the surface of each stem is green with life which, although quiet now, will soon become apparent as soft buds begin to swell along the length of the plants. The old leaves will disappear and by early spring the buds will be disproportionately large on the seemingly delicate stems. Then in May comes the flowering, which on mature plants is spectacular.

January is a time for looking forward to the new gardening year and anticipating the flowers of spring and summer.

It can be hard to believe that the rose bushes will bloom, the stems heavy with flowers and fragrance on warm summer days and that a dry patch of thin soil will support the soft grey stems and leaves of Lychnis coronaria.

The shocking pink flowers of this plant will last for weeks from June to August, especially when deadheaded regularly. Then there are the more subtle pleasures of quieter plants, such as the water avens or Geum rivale.

Leonard's Variety is particularly attractive, with lovely pinkish-bronze flowers rising from clumps of semi-evergreen leaves. The blooms of this moisture-loving plant are carried in batches from May until October with the main flowering period being earlier and subsequent ones being less spectacular but, nevertheless, a welcome sight.

Weekend catch-up

Despite the time of year there is plenty to do in the garden, should the weather be kind. A good tidy-up such as sweeping the paths and picking up or gently raking debris from the lawn, will make everything look much better. Borders can be tidied by clearing dead leaves and twigs from the surface of the soil, but any pruning can be left until later in the season unless damaged or broken branches need to be removed. I will leave the dead stems of Sedum spectabile for a few more weeks even though the new rosettes have already pushed through the soil. The stems will offer a little protection against frost and still add some interest and height to the garden.

New plants

Thompson and Morgan (T&M) has introduced three new courgettes to its kitchen garden collection. Courgette Cavili F1 Hybrid (£2.99/ 5 seeds) is a self-pollinating pale skinned or Lebanese-type courgette, which has, according to T&M, a creamier taste and texture than usual. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Courgette Tricolour F1 Hybrid (£2.99/ 5 seeds) is a round courgette that bears light green, dark green and yellow fruit ideal for eating raw when small and steaming whole. Courgette Parador F1 Hybrid (£1.99/ 5 seeds) has gold skinned fruit and supersedes the yellow skinned variety Gold Rush. Parador matures earlier than Gold Rush, says T&M, as well as cropping longer and having a better fruit quality, taste and shape.

All these varieties are best sown from mid-April to May for transplanting outdoors after the last frosts in late May. They should be ready for harvesting from late June until the first frosts of autumn. Cavili also can be sown in late March for an early crop under glass.

To order any of the above courgettes, phone the debit/credit card order line 01473 695225 or order online at www.thompson-morgan.com. For a free copy of the 2006 Thompson And Morgan Seed Catalogue phone 01473 695224 quoting D201.

Gardening TV and radio

Sunday, January 8

9am, BBC Radio York, Down To Earth. Presented by William Jenkyns. (Repeated on Wednesday at 8pm).

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners' Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and chairman Eric Robson help gardeners from Somerset with their horticultural problems. Plus the real Roy Lancaster is revealed by Alan Titchmarsh. The Gardening Weather Forecast is at 2.25pm.

Friday, January 14

8pm, BBC2, Christine's Garden. The third part of a six-part series, which looks at the professional life of horticulturalist Christine Walkden who this week finds herself, flooded with work.

8.30pm, BBC2, The Gardener's Year. It's late spring and Alan Titchmarsh shows what to do and why at the time of year when the average plant is growing two inches a week.

Updated: 16:19 Friday, January 06, 2006